Woodfaerie

Sounds like you made the best of the situation! I know you said the financial impact on you, being self-employed, may hurt you in the end, but there also weren't many other options. I'm sure the things you saw, from the crew, would be kind of fun to see. They are always so "on point" for the most part, it's good that they were able to relax a bit too. You know they were going to be super busy again soon enough!

agree, my options were almost nil but you are right, so much was fun to observe and be a part of. If only the crew were able to be themselves all the time. Kind of sad when you think about it. I was chatting with my room steward and he said that most of them feel as if they are looked down upon by the passengers.

Thank you for sharing this. I was on the Splendor that departed 9/3. We finally docked late 9/12 in Ft Lauderdale and were given the option to stay until 9/14 while docked since there were no flights or hotels available. I opted to stay and was thankful for the the ship when my Wednesday flight was cancelled. I was much more comfortable on the ship vs. sitting in the airport for 2 days.

 

There were less than 300 of us onboard the last day/night and I thought the same about the crew. It was so nice to see them finally relax! Our sailing had many complainers including a large group that was really tough for the crew to deal with sometimes. They busted their tails for 9 nights to try and make everyone happy. By nights 10 and 11 it was nice to see them get some much deserved rest.

go figure with only a handful of passengers and still the naysayers find their way in.......

quote=firemanbobswife: The circumstances sure stunk, but that sounds like my kind of cruise! Did anyone get to upgrade to suites or nicer cabins?

no upgrades that I heard of. Originally, there were 4 of us in a balcony. They split us in to 2 balconies interestingly enough. I was near the end of my hallway and there was a suite at the end of the hall that was for sure empty. Oddly enough, I saw an inside room being cleaned and wondered, what the heck? Theres a kajillion balcony rooms open but maybe not everyone wants direct viewing of the ocean?

Suites are extra work for the room stewards so maybe they took that in to consideration which is why I didn't get that suite at the end of my hallway! :D

This will be a long positing, my apologies for not being less wordy.

My original sailing left 9/2 on the Glory to the Eastern Caribbean which of course was changed to Western. We could not debark on 9/9 due to the POM being closed. The port opened up late 9/12 letting some off and then again the morning of 9/13 for the rest of the passengers who were supposed to get off on 9/9, unless you chose to stay on for the remaining 3 days accepting their special offer.

If we debarked, we faced living at MIA for at least 2 days because we couldn't get a flight out for 48 hours. There were NO hotel rooms to be found. Not an appealing option so we chose the Carnival option of staying on board for the extra 3 days for the cost of gratuities, port fees and taxes. There were NO charges for the time period of 9/9 - 9/13 because of port closures.

I guesstimate about 180 people who chose this option of B2B based on glancing at all of us who went back through immigration and got rebooked. I was told by an officer that there was a total of 470 passengers, yes 470 who were on the last leg of the journey, B2B included. Ships capacity is 2974. I am not a mathematician but that means only about 10% made it on board for the last leg of the original 7 day cruise departing 9/9 that got turned in to a 3 day Bahamas.

Ghost ship part: never in all my days did a cruise seem so surreal. Only one dining room was kept open with the majority of servers having nothing to do. Their staffs final "Leaving on a Cruise Ship" performance was sung to about 4 tables worth of guests with not one twirling napkin. I had hot tubs to myself, yes even including the Serenity deck, multiple times. I was in the midship pool with one other person multiple times. I was alone in the aft pool multiple times. Pixels had just a few sections with pictures. At times NO ONE was on the Promenade deck except for staff, I mean no one. Guys Burgers even shut down when they were scheduled to be open. (oh the horror). Room service? INSTANT.

What was the most intruiging part of being on the Glory ghost ship? THE CREW. OMG, they were so chill, so relaxed! We witnessed a crew member (cleaning floors) actually get a cup of coffee! It was awesome. We saw 2 crew members quietly holding hands. We saw an officer put his hand on his officer girlfriends buttocks, yes in plain sight. True fact! And she was doing a shimmy to the music. It was clearly visable that they were enjoying the absence of the masses. They gathered in mini groups around the ship, chatting socially which is a rare sight. Who would have thought that these hard working people can laugh! but they do! It was wonderful.

Few more facts: I (57, 18th cruise) was traveling with adult daughter (27, 7th cruise) and her friend (28, 2nd cruise) and adult granddaughter (19, 3rd cruise) I am self employed so this really did hit me hard financially, like really hard. I sailed for 4 days totally free and was charged a total of $140 for the last 3 day leg that we chose to stay on (vs being homeless at MIA) which was for gratuities, taxes and port fees. They split up our balcony room for the last 3 days into 2 separate balcony rooms. We had 4 cancelled flights and horrible internet connections through the Hub. Will we continue to cruise? Heck yeah! My B2B is now checked off my bucket list (but plan on one at some point that I have control over)

In conclusion: I am totally sensitive to all those who ended up with their cruises cancelled, drastically changed and inappropriately compensated. I am even more sensitive to the devastation of life and homes and livelyhood for so many affected by Irma. I was merely sharing an experience with other addicts who are in the room.

I did the opposite getting a quote from the POM to FLL. We needed a UberXL due to having 5 suitcases and was quoted $75. We ended up going online to find shuttle services and easily found one paying $53 for the 3 of us. this was just yesterday.

I am presently on the glory, perusing the Caribbean Sea as we are unable to arrive back in Miami until the port re-opens.

Though this unplanned extended Cruise does create an odd set of issues for those of us who cannot get home to our families and jobs, my heart goes out to all of you who are so greatly affected with the cancellations and adjustments to itinerary.

we are being treated exceptionally well here on the Glory however, I think Carnival has made some very very bad decisions regarding cancellations, itinerary changes, etc. And a ship debarked today in Miami?? Can't be true!

I am on the Glory now. We left Cozumel today which was like a Dunkin donuts drive thru window with ships coming and leaving, crazy.

Our captain has told us we have plenty of provisions, that safety is priority and that we will arrive to the Port of Miami when it reopens. There was nothing more specific than that.

Of course many of us are concerned as to what we will return to in Miami. Personally I wish that we could get dropped off or given the option to at NOLA but it appears the gulf weather may get very choppy as well along the west coast of Florida?

I will be leaving this Saturday, Eastern Caribbean on the Glory. Its hurricane season. If it were to rain every day I would feel blessed as compared to our friends affected by Harvey. I am still thrilled to be leaving. Flying into Miami early tomorrow, let the fun begin!

ummm .. I read CC, plan future cruises, watch youtube vids, buy totally unnecessary packing supplies, buy totally unnecessary tropical clothing, and do "practice" bookings of many different ships on several lines!

yep, ditto. its an unforgiving addiction.

The BLT and chocolate cake are good.

yep, my sentiments as well. I love room service.

Whether or not I do excursions in all ports or for that fact any of them comes down to how much I spent on the cruise itself. If I get a balcony, I will tend to just go to beaches, the free ones, which i love anyway. I am a sun loving cruise vs a cultural cruiser. Its all about relaxation for me, but I do love a good excursion every now and again! (St Thomas catamaran/turtle cove, Belize Mayan temples and River Wallace boat tour were so much fun)

Yep! Of course RCL's Harmony Of The Sea's is great but there's many negatives. I really think Carnival wins! Here's the cruise review

Thank you for the fun review! I agree with you regarding the room service menu. I LOVE ordering from room service late at night and sitting out on my balcony knowing it only cost me a tip. I do hope Carnival continues with their basic menu of good munchie food that is "free' of charge.

I think i will stick to smaller ships. There seems to be so much indoor space on these megas. I like the outside better. I also like the minimal need for reservations on the smaller ships.

I used walkies back in the day before the Carnival hub app and it was awful. We would hear other peoples conversations. It was very difficult to find a clear channel.

I wish they would bring back the reduced deposit deal like NCL has going on now....

Thank you all for the information. When I booked with Carnival, I didn't have to supply the names of my cabin mates before final payment was due, they were listed as TBA. Once I did the online registration (often after the final deposit) I would enter the names and info.

Seems like I could supply a name and pay the $50 to change it, if it ends up being the alternate roomie. Thanks again!

Hello, I am looking into booking my first MSC sailing in early 2019. Does anyone know if I can deposit without the 2nd persons name? I am not sure which out of 2 possibilites will be coming with me and may not until about 2 month prior to sailing. Thank you for any feedback you can offer!

This will be our first b2b and will be my first ever 3 week vacation.

 

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Good for you! A B2B is on my bucket list, hope to within a few years. Have a great looooong cruise!

I had to turn Jeff off for a while. It was too stressful; I think he might die.

My heart is in my stomach watching him. Where will he go....:rolleyes:

Thanks for posting.

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Things I have changed since my newbie days:

Pack much less. Wearing an outfit 2x is totally acceptable.

Stay on board and use the "secret" pool in the ships gym when in ports I have visited multiple times.

Save and cutback wherever I can to afford a balcony room.

Bring and read an entire book.

Check for price drops daily.

Eat all the cheese I want without guilt.

Don't shave when the ship is moving.

Thanks for the very honest review. I have to give credit to the staff members who continue to do the same game shows over and over. I only have to watch them 1x per year, but they have to run them every week. yikes. With CD's on each ship, can't they pool their ideas and come up with something new? Good for Mom, she gets a nice portrait of the boys and you come out ahead $$!

I can't speak for NOLA but have brought my table top fan with me sailing out of Miami, Tampa, Orlando and NY, all without issue. I would think its safe to say NOLA would follow the same policy.

2 cruises ago, I had a most awesome 3D sun stolen from my door. My room steward said he saw it in another room down the hallway but of course could not remove it and return it to me. So....I wrote a huge note on the backside of one of my door decorations and taped it on my mailbox so the thief would see it when he/she walked by my room. It said " YOU STOLE MY SUNSHINE BUT YOU CANT STEAL MY FUN". needless to say, that note was not taken.

If I were to have a meal in the MDR that was less than I had hoped for, that would be resolved simply through the consumption of the warm chocolate melting cake as the meal finale.

I have to bring a fan with me every sailing because there has never been a ship with a stateroom cool enough for me to sleep comfortably, but the again, the kids refer to said fan as the "hotflasher fan" ;)